It troubles me when I hear people say things like I have no good stories or good ideas, because I think to myself, what do these people do every day? Can't they see the stories and ideas popping up around them? I'm of the opinion that a good story or idea is only minutes away.

For example, I had to drive to a trailer park/campground about five minutes away from my house to do laundry two days ago, because my current home doesn't have a washer and dryer. As I pull up to the laundromat portion of this fine establishmnt, there are two men sitting on the bench outside the sweltering hot room with no ventilation where it costs $3.00 to wash and dry your clothes.

One of these customers is haggard as all heck, smoking like a chimney, and has a scruffy terrier-mixed-with-a-who-knows-what on a leash lounging next to him, and this guy's chatting away with his friend, who's also smoking like a chimney, also haggard as all heck, and has a prosthetic limb for a right leg. They say hello to me and we become sort of we're all in this laundry thing together friends.

This is life, pure life. The makings of a great story, right there, with little or no effort on my part to make it appear.

That night I ended up talking with these fellows for a bit and I read my book on a bench while my clothes were spinning in a laundry machine. And after they left, people drove in and out of the trailer park—with one guy rolling down his window, jokingly asking me with a raspy voice hey, can you do my laundry too?

The conclusion of the story? These people look like they should be operating rides at a carnival and have every reason to shun an obvious outsider like myself, but they are good people who are more welcoming than most other strangers I see when I explore this city.

So really, I'm looking forward to going back there to do my laundry and seeing what other friends I can make.

If you're out of ideas or a good story, you don't need to worry or pack it in. Both are only only minutes away.